Their visit of the WWII memorial was organized by Honor Flight, a program that brings veterans from all over the country to see the WWII memorial for free.

At the time, Carol Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service said, "The Park Service did not want to do this, but we've been instructed as a federal agency to close our facilities and our grounds."

Some members of Congress defied the National Park Service and opened the barricade.